“Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence or learning,” wrote Frederick Faber, a 17th-century hymn writer.
“Do not be satisfied with loving people in your own mind. Love them until they feel your love.“—Mike Mason
As Christians, we’re going to mess up. We’re going to sin. But when He died on the cross of Calvary, Jesus took upon Himself the condemnation and the judgment that we should have faced.
How God Sees Us - Greg Laurie Devotion - March 12, 2024
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Tuesday, March 12, 2024
How God Sees Us
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. (Romans 8:1-2 NLT)
As Christians, we’re going to mess up. We’re going to sin. But when He died on the cross of Calvary, Jesus took upon Himself the condemnation and the judgment that we should have faced.
Romans 8:1 tells us, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT). A Spirit-led believer lives a condemnation-free life.
We see a classic example of how this works in John 8, when the religious leaders brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus. Obviously a man was involved, but he was gone, and the religious leaders had set up a trap. They said, “This woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” (verses 4–5 NLT).
God always sees us for what we can become. Think of Simon Peter. When he was still known as Simon, Jesus gave him a new name, Peter, which means “rock.” Now, if there was anything that Simon was not, it was a rock. He was hotheaded, vacillating, and argumentative. Yet Jesus was saying, “From now on, you’re a rock.”
We see a Simon. God sees a Peter. We see the past. God sees the future. We see a mess. God sees a message. God sees us for who we are in Christ, not what we were in sin. God does not see us in our sin; He sees us in His Son. God can change everything in your story—if you’ll let Him.
Does that hopelessness ring true for you? Jesus IS the path! He knows the way and He will give you direction. He will restore your hope and stay with you the entire way.
Let's take a reflective look at our meditations on the Holy Spirit as a reminder that we are still studying about the grace of God. In considering how to live by the fullness of the Spirit, we have examined how to live more fully by the grace of God.
In Zechariah 4:6, we observed the connection between living by the Spirit and living by the grace of God: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." Serving the Lord is accomplished by the work of the Spirit in and through our lives, not by natural capabilities. The next verse restates this truth in terms of God's grace. "And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it'!" Every completed task in the service of God is accomplished by His grace (God's undeserved resources), not by our ingenuity or merit.
It is the will of God that we walk in daily dependence upon the Holy Spirit. It is God's desire that we seek Him for the fullness of the Spirit's work in and through our lives. Three wrong responses that undermine the will of God in our lives are resisting, grieving, and quenching the Spirit of the Lord.
These words from Jesus provide another picture of what the fullness of the Spirit is all about, as well as how to walk in that spiritual abundance. His remarks are addressed to those who are thirsty: "If anyone thirsts." In this spiritual context, thirst can speak of the painful dryness that often accompanies need or lack. Pressures, responsibilities, busyness, disappointments, and preoccupation with earthly matters can dry out the soul of man. Corresponding to this need, thirst can refer to the eager yearning after those heavenly blessings that refresh and restore our inner life. Such thirsty conditions apply to all of us at various times.
Here again, the work of the Spirit in our lives is associated with prayer. Prayer is that wonderful God-ordained means of relating to the Lord in humility and faith (the two means by which we access grace). In praying, we are humbly admitting that we need God. In praying, we are exercising faith toward God that He will act on our behalf. We pray; God moves by His Spirit, pouring out whatever grace is necessary for any given situation.
For those who are wondering how to be filled with the Spirit, the prayer in Ephesians 3 offers excellent insight. The precise relevance of this passage for our present subject is obvious, when the concluding purpose of the prayer is noted: "that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, what will the results be in his life? What evidences will develop to validate the work of the Spirit in fullness? In some church traditions, which give considerable attention to the fullness of the Spirit, limited evidences are stressed (such as those mentioned often in Acts: tongues, prophecy, or boldness). The full biblical picture is much larger than this viewpoint.
The Bible says that our real problem is that every one of us is building our identity on something besides Jesus. Whether it's to succeed in our chosen field or to have a certain relationship—or even to get up and walk—we're saying, "If I have that, if I get my deepest wish, then everything will be okay.
"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV)
t's good to have goals, but what good are goals if we leave God out of them?
Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." Serving the Lord is accomplished by the work of the Spirit in and through our lives.
There are no short cuts to spiritual maturity.
It takes time to be holy.
~Erwin W. Lutzer~
In the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity
As Christians, we need to take advantage of every opportunity God gives us to share with understanding. It is the greatest gift we have for people.
The Christian’s task is to make the Lord Jesus visible,
intelligible and desirable.
~Len Jones~
The mind is a terrible thing to waste but it will deceive you if thoughts are not directed in the right direction. Set your mind on thing's above.
Let's take a reflective look at our meditations on the Holy Spirit as a reminder that we are still studying about the grace of God. In considering how to live by the fullness of the Spirit, we have examined how to live more fully by the grace of God.
Ignorance of the Scriptures is the root of all error.
~J. C. Ryle~
Satan is relentless, tireless. The Accuser makes a career out of accusing. But he will not have the last word. Jesus has acted on our behalf. He stooped…low enough to be spat upon, nailed, and speared. Low…low enough to be buried. And then he stood…he stood up!
Jesus uses us to show His love and compassion to others. Our churches, our homes, and our individual lives should be a place where love is shining brightly; where forgiveness, compassion, and care are demonstrated. Wherever we are, we have a responsibility to unselfishly give of our time and efforts for the needs and concerns of others.
the best way is to always keep God's word in the for front of what you are doing because there are to many weird people who will make jokes and politeness, flirtation.
The old saying keep the main thing the main thing.
Real faith is not only getting beyond our past: it’s recognizing that faith is an ongoing process. None of us “have arrived.” At best, we can say we’re “on the way.”
A big mistake many make is the notion that at any given moment we’re going to be complete and thus relieved from the prospect of additional construction. That is not and will never be the case.
While I’m not everything I want to be, I’m not all the things I once was. Our lives are filled with pressure and stress. This is not necessarily bad. Stress and tension, properly balanced, actually give us strength.
Faith involves having something in the distance to motivate us and keep us moving, as the apostle Paul admonished in his Epistle to the Philippians. We should “press on toward the goal.”
Beware of letting your natural desires hinder your walk in Love before God. One of the cruelest ways to kill natural love is through the rejection that results from having built the love on natural desires. But the one true desire of a saint( child of God) is not something sentimental or emotion- for a saint to lOVE as God loves is the most practical thing imaginable.
“Treat your body like a temple, not a woodshed. The mind and body work together. Your body needs to be a good support system for the mind and spirit. If you take good care of it, your body can take you wherever you want to go, with the power and strength and energy and vitality you will need to get there.”
— Jim Rohn
Politics has a way of bring people down.... People would leave there country, jobs, volunteer organization, and political party. It is hard to not fall into the trap. Yes if we do not stand up for anything we will die for nothing. But never let it get to you because then it is time to step away.
A life abandoned to Christ cannot be cut short.
~Sherwood Day~
We are called to be encouraging; we are to build each other up in the faith and be a source of encouragement to others--after all, it's a spiritual gift. Flattery, however, is something entirely different.
If you flatter someone, you want something from them. You manipulate your relationship with them to get your own way.
Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all.
Christ did not do what was comfortable, easy or without pain for us. As His disciples we are to emulate His submission.
Obedience is not always easy, but assures us that JESUS is our Lord and results in our lives being built to withstand such torrential times.
"Not everyone who SAYS to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of My Father in heaven." (Mt 7:21)
God knows your past, present, and future. You can trust Him because He wants the best for you. Spend time talking to God and reading His Word. Ask Him to reveal His plans for you each day.
Be careful, dear friends, that you do not misrepresent God yourselves. You who murmur; you who say that God deals hardly [barely] with you, you give God an ill character… and so you stain the honor of God.
~C. H. Spurgeon~
A.W. Tozer once said, “It is now common practice in
most evangelical churches to offer people, especially
young people, a maximum of entertainment and a
minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to anyone to attend a meeting where
the only attraction is God.
One can only conclude that God’s professed children
are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to
meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of
religious movies, games, and refreshments.
This has influenced the whole pattern of church life,
and even brought into being a new type of church
architecture designed to house the golden calf.”
A.W. Tozer, Man: Dwelling Place of God, p.136
Let me say boldly that it is not the difficulty of discovering truth, but the unwillingness to obey it, that makes it so rare among men. Our Lord said, "I am the Truth." And again He said, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Truth, therefore, is not hard to find for the very reason that it is seeking us! So we learn that Truth is not a thing for which we must search, but a Person to whom we must hearken! In the New Testament, multitudes came to Jesus for physical help, but only rarely did one seek Him out to learn the Truth. The whole picture in the gospels is one of a seeking Savior, not one of seeking men. The Truth was hunting for those who would receive it, and relatively few did, for "many are called, but few are chosen."
A. W. Tozer Sermon: Truth Is A Person
“Yesterday, God helped me,
Today He’ll do the same,
How long will this continue?
Forever-praise His Name.”
Warren Wiersbe
“Redemption is the liberation of man through Christ and the Holy Spirit from forces and thralldoms that hold him bound, individually and collectively.”—John Mackay
The most effective poison to lead men to ruin is to boast in themselves, in their own wisdom and will power. ~John Calvin~
The Christian Life is More Than Lots of Don’ts and Do Not's!
but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up...
It’s only when we understand that in Jesus we are cleansed, washed, and renewed that we see our sin fall by the wayside. — Jefferson Bethke
“Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s little nut that held its ground.”
Prayer opens the channel between a soul and God; prayerlessness closes it. Prayer releases the grip of Satan's power; prayerlessness increases it. That is why prayer is so exhausting and so vital. If we believed it, the prayer meeting would be as full as the church.
~Alan Redpath~
When I am going through difficult times, I am helped to be thankful by my Christian community. When brothers and sisters in Christ lift up my concerns and struggles in prayer, I am comforted. Yes, we are to move forward but when I am weak apart from Jesus and the church I would stay weak and never move forward in faith.
Jesus is the light of the world Jesus is the living word Jesus is the good shepherd Jesus is the Lamb of God Jesus is the living water Jesus is the living bread Jesus is the true vine Jesus is the Son of God
The purpose of good works isn't to change us or save us, rather, it's the demonstration of the change within us. -A.W. Tozer -
Those who only wore the name Christian, without the reality, have always refused to come out and be separate from the world. -J.C. Ryle -
Steven Lawson
Truth is reality. It is the way things really are. It is what God says anything is. Not what society says. Nor culture. But what God says.
“If salvation was 99.99% Jesus and 0.01% us, we would all be damned.” Paul Washer
A sinning man stops praying - a praying man stops sinning. -Leonard Ravenhill -
Valuing other things above God is the ground of all miscarriages in the business of religion. -Thomas Manton -
God has called us in accordance with our character, capacity, opportunity, to speak the truth in Jesus. - Jeremy Walker
O Christians, cannot you make up any loss this way? Cannot you see more in God than in any, or all the creature-comforts you have lost? With what eyes, then, do you look upon God? - John Flavel
"It is better to obey God than to work miracles." — Charles Spurgeon
It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last of the evening. Martin Luther
Burk Parsons
when we focus on self we see nothing. When we focus on others we see the specks in their eyes. When we focus on Christ we see the logs in our own eyes.
God is wholly present in all creation, in every corner, he is behind you and before you. Do you think he is sleeping on a pillow in heaven? He is watching over you and protecting you. Martin Luther
"If your faith does not make you pray, have nothing to do with it." — Charles Spurgeon
“God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.” - C.S. Lewis
"Prayer is not a vain exercise; it is heard and answered." — Charles Spurgeon
God either rules as sovereign in interpretation over all areas of life or none. Greg L. Bahnsen
But then [on the day of judgement] neither David’s murder shall rise up against him, nor Peter’s denial of his master ever stare him in the face. —Stephen Charnock, Works 3:517
The scripture hath breasts of comfort, so full as a breast ready to discharge itself, and yet they [who neglect the scripture] are not comforted. —Thomas Manton, Works 7:36
If I were to judge a man… I would not judge of him by his open profession, but by his domestic behaviors. What a man is at home, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 he is indeed. —Puritan John Bunyan, Works 2:536
"Look to the Word of the Lord and long to be conformed to it in all things." — Charles Spurgeon
"I would say that a ‘dull preacher’ is a contradiction in terms; if he is dull he is not a preacher. He may stand in the pulpit and talk but he is certainly not a preacher. With the grand theme and message of the Bible dullness is impossible." - Martyn Lloyd Jones
"Faith cannot die, nor can he die who has faith." — Charles Spurgeon
A kind word or deed is almost always received, appreciated, and remembered, and reflects God’s Holy Spirit and His love. Ray Bentley
"Child of God, you cost Christ too much for Him to forget you." - Charles Spurgeon
The person who says “I don’t pay any attention to what others have said about the Scriptures down through the years. The Holy Spirit is my teacher, and I follow only him.” He is dumb. — S. Lewis Johnson
If someone says that they have a "word from God", but it doesn't line up with the Word of God... you can be certain that it didn't come from God.
Christ ought to be preached with this goal in mind that we might be moved to faith in him so that He is not just a distant historical figure but actually Christ for you and me. Martin Luther
Noah, Ark Endured the Great Flood. Lot, Removed from Wrath On Sodom. Joseph, Prisoner to Prince of Egypt. Israel, Saved through the Red Sea. David, Shepherd to King, Slew Giants. Job, Gained Back Twice What He Lost. Daniel, Delivered from Den of Lions. OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL!
“Abide hard by the cross and search the mystery of His wounds." - C.H. Spurgeon
"Mistrust of God is not a mere weakness; it is a wickedness of the gravest order." — Charles Spurgeon
“This is ... a charge to preachers and teachers of the Christian faith. Telling stories about Jesus, what He said and what He did, is an essential part of spreading the Gospel." - Fleming Rutledge
"Thus, the point of the text is the point of an expository sermon; no more, no less." -Walter Baxter
"The free grace of Christ will produce far more effects on men’s lives than the sternest commands of the law." —JC Ryle
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